SPRINGDALE — It’s hard not to stand out with a name like Zann Jones.
Then again, with the way Shiloh Christian’s wide receiver plays, he was bound to grab attention anyway.
Jones is one touchdown reception away from tying the state’s career record heading into tonight’s Class 4A state championship game against Pulaski Academy (13-1) at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Jones has 54 touchdown receptions going into the game, one shy of the state record of 55 shared by former Shiloh Christian player Shane Williams and former Greenwood standout Josh Bell, but Jones’ standout numbers don’t stop there. He has caught 62 passes for 1,305 yards and 22 touchdowns this season, and he has 221 career receptions for 3,703 yards.
Still, the No. 1 thing on Jones’ resume is four trips he’s made to the state championship game during his four seasons with the Saints.
That is a major accomplishment by high school football standards.
“If you go to Little Rock every year, you’re used to winning and you’re a part of winning,” Shiloh Christian senior quarterback Kiehl Frazier said. “Little Rock is like a second home for him.”
It still almost seems like Jones, averaging 1.57 touchdowns per game, gets lost in Shiloh Christian’s high-powered offense.
Jones isn’t even close to being the team’s leading scorer. That distinction belongs to senior running back Garrett Harper, who has 2,221 all-purpose yards and 30 touchdowns this season.
Then there is Frazier, one of the nation’s top quarterbacks who has orally committed to Auburn. Before worrying about Jones or Harper, opponents must try to find a way to slow him. All Frazier has done is throw for 2,656 yards and 38 touchdowns and run for 1,112 yards 19 more touchdowns.
Throw in receivers Jon Hawes and Colt Thomas as well as running back Jason Schisler, and one begins to understand how someone with all of Jones’ ability can get lost in the shuffle.
“I think we’ve got a bunch of players who can make plays, so they have to worry about all those other guys,” said Jones, 18. “It’s got to help that our running game is really good. People are worried about the run on play-action, so when he throws it to me I’ll be wide open.”
Williams played alongside current Shiloh Christian Coach Josh Floyd when he set the state record for career touchdown receptions from 1996 through 1998. Floyd runs a version of the same Spread, no-huddle, hurry-up offense he learned while playing quarterback under former Saints Coach Gus Malzahn, but he said Jones’ accomplishments are more than just a product of Shiloh Christian’s offensive system.
“It almost doesn’t matter what route we call, what play we call,” Floyd said. “He does such a great job of adjusting his routes to get open.”
Jones, 6-0, 202 pounds, has the size to overpower defensive backs, and he’s been clocked as fast as 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash. He also has developed a reputation as a strong blocker.
“He’s a complete football player,” Floyd said. “He’s one of our best blockers. Ever since the ninth grade, he’s been blocking his tail off at receiver. He’s a big reason Garrett Harper gets the kind of runs he gets and why Kiehl gets the runs he gets.”
Jones’ success hasn’t led to scholarship offers from NCAA Division I schools. The only offers he has received are from NCAA Division II schools Henderson State in Arkadelphia and Southwest Baptist in Bolivar, Mo.
“Division II is apparently what I’m going to play,” he said.
That doesn’t matter right now, though. All Jones is concerned about is helping Shiloh Christian win its seventh state championship. A victory tonight would give the Saints their third consecutive state title, their fourth in five years.
And if he happens to tie or break that state record, that would be fine. It would be a fitting end to his career. Just don’t expect Jones to make a big deal out of it.
He doesn’t have to have all the attention.
“It would be nice to have your name there for a while before someone breaks it,” Jones said. “My family makes a big deal about it. I think they want it more than me, honestly.”Zann Jones at a glance SCHOOL Shiloh Christian POSITION Wide receiver CLASS Senior HEIGHT/WEIGHT 6-0, 202 pounds NOTEWORTHY Four-year starter for the Saints. ... Has 62 catches for 1,305 yards and 22 touchdowns this season. ... Has 221 catches for3,703 yards and 54 touchdowns for his career. ... One touchdown reception away from tying the state record for career touchdowns.
Sports, Pages 22 on 12/10/2010